Ribbon mechanism



p T. o. -MEHAN RIBBON MECHANISMS ori inal Filed May 25, 1939 sSheets-Sheet 1 liiiilll l INVEN'iOR. BY 1720222425 QMe/ZQJZ:

Sept. 7, 1943. T. 0.,MEHAN 2,329,129

RIBBON MECHANISMS Original Filed May 25, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1INVENTOR.

Thoma QJVe/zm Sept. 7, 1943. T.'O. MEHAN RIBBON MECHANISMS 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed May 25, 1939 Z INVENTOR. Th0 maaafie zwPatented Sept. 7, 1943' "275,662. Divided a nd this ap lication October30;;941, Serial No. 417,155 I 8 Claims. goi s z iti Thi's inventionrelates to ribbon mechanisms" of the type which directly grip the ribbonand feed it through the pri ti g si r ngmachine. Y f

'' Woven fabric ink impregnated ribbons 'which have been more generallyin use are usually" mounted on a pair of spools on which the feedingmechanism acts directly to draw the ribbon through the printingposition, and by means of a reversing device" feed it back again torewind it on the spool from which it previously had been unwound. Whensuch ribbon mechanisms are used with calculating machines, each ribboncustomarily has such length and durability that it outlasts severalpaper rolls, when subject to irequent use. I I s V Howeve1 when acalculatingmachine is infre'quently usedthroughout the course of a year;the ribbon may become too dry and mus't'then be discarded without havingrendered any substantial proportion of its possible full service;

' To eliminate such wastage and other disadvantages of the'spool-drivenand reusable fabric ribbons, I propose by this invention'to make itconvenient to employ single use paper ribbons and especially in suchlengths and in such a manner :thatwhen adapted to calculating niachines,a single ribbon will be used and discarded as each paper roll is used bythe machine. Such.

an embodiment of the invention is herein illustrated, but it is not tobe understood; however, that this invention is restricted to suchemployment.

While the ribbon which may be. used with this invention may be of anysuitable material it is economical to use paper which is durable enoughfor a'single use. I

' One of the objects of this invention is to provide a simple andinexpensive ribbon feed m'ech anism suitable for the purp'osejabovedescribed.

I Another object of the" invention is to provide a feed mechanismdesigned to make easy the in- 'stallation of a fresh ribbon.

Another object is to provide means'for carrying the starting end of anewly installed ribbon across the printing position of the machineandoperatively connecting it with the feeding device.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specificae .tiori "in which is described an embodiment in Fig.4.

Fig. 2 isa-sectional'view on the line 2--2 of Fig'Ai ,Fig. 3 is asideeleva'tionoi a portion of themachine asviewed from the side oppositetothat shown in Fig. 1, and showing the-machine at rest. g r I Fig. 4 isa side elevation similar to that of Fig. 3 except that the 'platen'rollhas been rotated'iorwardly'and downwardly into the print-J. ing;position. i r I Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the machine. Fig. 6 is aplan View of a portion of the ma chine. v K i Fig. 7 is aperspectiveView of 'a ribbon inserter forming a part of'the invention.

Fig. 8 is'a perspective view of a ribbon holder suitable for mounting intheinserter of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a central sectional view of the ribbon holder shown in' Fig.8. Y c I Referring now to the drawings, the ribbon mechanism isillustrated as mounted on'an adding machine having a base plate l andtwo main side frame plates 2 and 3, secured to the base plate. Themachine illustrated is provided with type carrying Wheels located in theposition indicated by the wheel 4,while a rockable platen frame;generally indicated as 5 in 4,:carries a platen roll 6, this frame beingrockable abouta pivot l to bring the platen roll forwardly anddownwardlyagainst the type wheels, as shown.

- A'ribbon roll is mounted on the right-hand frame plate, and the ribbonis carried across selected for illustrating the nature of the inven- I'tion. v h J -Inthedrawings, Fig.1 isa side elevation of an addingmachine equipped in accordanc withf invention.

- the printingposition formed attheplane where the platen .roll contactsthe type Wheels and is 'with offset members l6 and li'whose reduced endsextend through apertures in the: associated plates and are swaged overin order to lock these two plates together in a spaced apart relation.

The centrally located hole. in each plate is providedwith an inwardlyextending boss. indicated as 18 and l'9',-Which form a bearing for aribbon 2 l. coiled about a sleeve 22. s

. The ribbon insertenlbest shown 7 r in Fig. .7, consists of anelongated member generally indicated as 23; havingan'ofiset step 24 onwhich the free end of the ribbon will then be drawn out to the oppositeextremity of the ribbon inextend through the recess 32 in the ribboninserter to firmly engage the ribbon against the driven roller.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the ribbon feeding mechanism is operated asfollows. The handle 56 is pulled forwardly to rock a main shaft 51thereby rotating a cam plate 58 fixed on that shaft. Other functions ofthe shaft and cam do not formi'a partfof "this; invention, hence willnot be discussed here. Pivotally connected with the cam plate is a link59 whose rear end is serter and impaled on the prongs 3|. This a's- Isembly is then inserted into the machine in such a manner as to carrythe end of the rib;-

bon across the printing position until the step "pivotally connected at6| with the left-hand platen frame plate 45. A rotative force is alsoapplied to theother side of the platen frame 24 slides in between theretaining flanges l2and l3 of the bracket 8.

t e? s r m n prongs on the inserter and the rib-bon will beffff pushedbetween the ribbon feed rolls and will pass slightly beyond them, sothat the tworoll's'" will grip the ribbon between them inthe iaj eaformed by the aperture 32 of the ribbon in serter. Thus, the roll ofribbon is located and supported in the bracket at the right-hand; sideof the machine while the free end of the ribbon is gripped by the feedrolls at the left side of. the machine, as clearly shown in Fig. 2

. .As'soon as the feed rolls begin to operate; they push the end of theribbon off the prongs 3|, and gradually draw the rest of the ribbonthrough the printing position, across. the flat portions 33 and. 34 ofthe inserter, which then serve as guide plates for the ribbon. The usedportion of the ribbon passing beyond the feed rollers will accumulatewithin the casing with which such a machine is usually covered and maybe discarded at the time a new ribbonis inserted into the machine,at,which time the inserter will be withdrawn in order to mount the newribbon holder thereon.

- One of the ribbon feeding rolls 35 is a knurled roller positionedbeneath the ribbon and-formed on a shaft 35 carried by a bracket securedon the inside of the side frame plate by the screw 31 and having a pairof flanges 38 and 39 through which the shaft extends. A ratchet wheel 4|is fixed on this shaft, and a spring 42 wound about the. shaft bearsagainst the flange 38 and the ratchet wheel to hold the ratchet wheelsnugly against a washer '43 lying between the ratchet wheel and thebracket flange"39'. The spring 42 introduces enough friction on theknurled feed roller. to hold'it stationary,

except when positively advanced byzthe pawl. A pawl 44 fixed on the sideframeplat'e .45 of the rockable platen mechanism has .a resilientportion 46 terminating in a hook 41 which will engage the teeth of theratchet on the return stroke of the platen frame to thereby .rotateztheratchet and knurled roller .to the extent of one tooth on each returnstroke.

An idler roller 48 is carried byza' 'swingable bracket having arms '49and 5! which are lpivoted one post 52, the latter being fixed in theflange 53 of a bracket 54 mounted on the cuti side of the main frameplate 3 and securedby the screw 31. A spring 55 surrounds the :post 52and is connected with the sivingable bracket in which the [idler rolleris carrier in such-1a manner as to press the idler against the drivenroller, but to permit sufficient yielding so'that the prongs of theribbon inserter may. pass :between the rollers. As shown in Figs. 3 and4, the central portion of the idler roller is enlarged relatively to theends-of the roller soithat-it; may

- by a link 52 which is connected at with platen frame plate .63, inorder to equalize the pressure throughout theIl'e'ngth of the platenroll against 1 the typewheel's," but for the purpose of explaining the\operationof the feed rollers, it is necessary only to refer to Figs. 3'and 4. On the forwardstroke, the rear end 41 of I the spring pawl 46will clear the ratchet. wheel 4'3, but on the return stroke, it willengage the ratchet and rotate it to the extent of one tooth. As shown inFig. 2, the several type wheels 4 extend slightly through -a comb 641and the platen roll will press the paper to be printed upon against theribbon overlying the type wheels. The fiat surfaces 313 and 34 of theinserter hold the ribbon in proper alignment with the printing plane. I

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 275,662,filed May25, 1939, for a patent on Adding machines.

It will now .be appreciated that the invention herein described isapplicable not only to adding through 'theprinting position and drawingit across the machine through the printing position thereof, meansactuated by each printing stroke of the machine forpositively rotating:one ofsaid rollers, .a'nda ribbon-supporting device having means at oneend thereof. for retaining :a ribbon spooLand-means at the other end ofsaid device for temporarily retaining the unrol'led freeend of a ribbonas the device is being attached: to the-machine for-carrying said endthrough the printing position of the-machine and operatively positioninggi-t between 'said rollers without further unrolli-ng of the ribbon.

-2;-In combination with a printing machine, a pair of feed rollersmounted onfl't-he machine at one side of the printing position fordirectly grip ping a ribbon after it has passed through the printingposition, means for driving one of said rollers, the other roll'er beingmounted to bear yieldingly against the first roller, a ribbon-supportingdevice having a cradle at one end thereof for reta ning a ribbon spool,arigid member on s aid devioe extending from the cradle across theprinting position to said rollers, means' on the end of said member forretaining the unwound end of a ribbon for inserting it between saidrollers as the device is being attached to the machine, and means on themachine for retaining said device when the ribbon has been insertedbetween said rollers.

3. In combination with a printing machine, a

pair. of feed rollers constructed and positioned for directly gripping aribbon after it has passed having means at one end thereof for retaininga ribbon spoohmeans at the other end of said device for temporarilyretaining the freeend of a I ribbon as the device is being attached tothe machine for carrying said end through the printing position of themachine and operatively p0 sitioning it between said rollerswithoutfurther unwinding, said ribbon gripping means being'so 3constructed that the subsequent feeding of the ribbon by the rollerswill release the ribbon end from said means.

4. In combination with a printing machine,ja

pair of rollers constructed and positionedfor directly gripping a ribbonafter it has passed thereof, means actuated by each printing stroke ofthe machine for positively rotating one of said the rollers into feedingrelation therewith when said device is being attached to the machine,the

feeding of the ribbon by the rollers thereafter being adapted to releasethe ribbon from said gripv ping means, and .means on the machine forreleasably retaining said device in operative position.

6. In combination with a printing machine, a pair of feedrollers mountedon the machine at one side of the printingposition for directly grippinga ribbon after it has passed through the printing position, means fordriving one of said rollers,'a ribbon-supporting and guiding devicehaving means at one end thereof for retaining a ribbon spool, arigid-member on said device constructed for extending from the positionof the spool across the machine past the printing position to therollers, means at the extremity of i porting and retaining said device,the whole bethrough the printing position and drawing it across themachine through the printing position 30 rollers, and aribbon-supportingand guiding device having means at one end thereof for retainmoved intooperative position on the machine,

the intermediate portion of said device havinga a a ribbon roll,.a pairof feed rolls for gripping and ribbon and carrying it betweensaidrollers without further unwinding as the device is being slot forembracing the printingposition and having surfaces for guiding theribbon on either side of said position.

5. In combination with a printing machine, a

pair of rollers mounted on the machine at one side of the printingposition for directly gripping a ribbon after it has passed through theprinting position, means for drivingone of, said 'roll-, ers, a ribbonsupport and guide device bodily removable from the machine having meansat one end thereof for releasably retaining a ribbon spool, a rigidextension on said device constructed for extending across the machinefrom the ing so arranged that said devicemaygbe attached to the machineby moving saidmember transversely across the machine until the end ofthe ribbon is inserted by said holding means between the feed rollersinto feeding relation therewith. v '7. Ina machine having a printingmechanism,

feeding the ribbon, and a ribbon inserter having means at one end forsupporting there-ll and by said retaining means without furtherunwinding. r Y 8. In amachine having a printing mechanism,

, a ribbon roll, a pair of feed rolls at one side of the machine forgripping the ribbon after it has passed throughthe printing positiomaribbon. supporter and inserter having means at one end '1 for supportingthe roll. and having rigid -means' at the other end for temporarilyretaining the unwound free end of theribbon and. so con- :structed andproportionedthat when the inserter is beinginse'rtedinto the maohinethefree end of the ribbon will be forced between said feed rollers by theretaining means without further unwinding.

i THOMAS O. MEHAN;

